a word from the expert

About Dutch tax - The Innovation Box

As of January 1, 2010, the existing tax incentive for innovative activities has been replaced and significantly expanded. Under this revised Dutch corporate income tax incentive, called Innovation box, income from Research & Development is taxed at an effective rate of only 5% rather than the statutory rate of 25.5%. For example: allocation of income of € 1 mio to the innovation box produces a direct tax benefit of € 200,000. This incentive is one of Europe’s most favorable and by correct tax planning it can actually be combined with incentives of other countries enlarging its effect!.

Do you qualify?
To qualify for the innovation box your company has to be active in Research & Development that leads up to patents or for which SenterNovem has issued a statement under the WBSO (Promotion of Research and Development Act).

Proposition
The determination of which part of the income can be allocated to the innovation box  and therefore benefit from the 5% CIT rate, has proofed to be quite technical. Therefore Deloitte Tax has composed a dedicated specialized team of tax lawyers and transfer pricing specialists which has already concluded solid and favorable agreements on the application of the innovation box with the tax authorities for quite some multinationals and major Dutch companies.

We invite you to make an appointment to examine which of your activities may qualify for the innovation box and to assess the possible tax benefit. If the proceeds justify further action, we will discuss with you what steps need be taken to effectively realize this tax benefit.

Together with all other (tax) benefits to start your business in the Netherlands, the innovation box is the perfect opportunity to lower your effective tax rate. 

Robert van Asten, Tax advisor Deloitte